Luke 16:15

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, YE ARE THEY WHICH JUSTIFY YOURSELVES (MAKE A SHOW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS) BEFORE MEN; BUT GOD KNOWETH YOUR HEARTS: FOR THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED AMONG MEN - who are easily carried away by plausible appearances (see ; and ), IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD - who, Himself true, loathes all hypocrisy....

15._It is you that justify yourselves before men. _We see that Christ does not give way to their disdainful conduct, but constantly maintains the authority of his doctrine in opposition to their mockery; and it is the duty of all the ministers of the Gospel to pursue the same course, by meeting ungodly despisers with the dreadful judgment of God. He declares that the hypocrisy, with which they deceive the eyes of men, will be of no avail to them at the judgment-seat of God. They were unwilling to have it thought that their mockery was intended as a defense of their _covetousness. _But Christ affirms that this venom breaks out from a concealed ulcer; just as if one were to tell the mitred prelates of our own day, that their hostility to the Gospel arises from the severity with which it attacks their hidden vices. _But God knoweth your hearts. _He says that they reckon it enough if they ap...

13-18 To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous sticklers for the forms of godliness, who are the bitterest enemies to its power, and try to set others against the truth....

Verse Luke 16:15. _YE - JUSTIFY YOURSELVES_] _Ye declare yourselves to be_ _just_. Ye endeavour to make it appear to men that ye can still feel an insatiable thirst after the present world, and yet secure the blessings of another; that ye can reconcile God and mammon, - and serve two masters with equal zeal and affection; but God knoweth your hearts, - and he knoweth that ye are _alive_ to the _world_, and _dead_ to _God_ and _goodness_. Therefore, howsoever ye may be esteemed among men, ye are an abomination before him. Luke 7:29....

THEY DERIDED HIM - The fact that they were “covetous” is here stated as the reason why they derided him, or, as it is literally, “they turned up the nose at him.” They contemned or despised the doctrine which he had laid down, probably because it showed them that with their love of money they could not be the true friends of God, or that their profession of religion was really false and hollow. They were “attempting” to serve God and mammon, and they, therefore, looked upon his doctrine with contempt and scorn. JUSTIFY YOURSELVES - “Attempt” to appear just; or; you aim to appear righteous in the sight of people, and do not regard the heart. THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED - That is, mere external works, or actions performed merely to “appear” to be righteous. IS ABOMINATION - Is abominable, or hateful. The word used he

EXPOSITION LUKE 16:1 The _Lord_'_s teaching on the right use of earthly possessions with regard to the prospect of another world, in the form of the two parables of the unjust steward, and Dives and Lazarus._ LUKE 16:1, LUKE 16:2 AND HE SAID ALSO UNTO HIS DISCIPLES. There is no doubt that this important teaching belongs to the last portion of our Lord's life, and it is probable that it is closely connected with the parable of the prodigal son just related. It is not likely that two such weighty sermons had been preached at the same time, but in the evening, or on the following day, or at leas

AND HE SAID UNTO THEM,.... That is, Jesus said unto them, as the Syriac and Persic versions express it: "ye are they which justify yourselves before men": from the sins of injustice, unfaithfulness, covetousness, and all others; and would be thought, and appear to be righteous; but it is only in the sight of men, who can only see the outside of things, and judge thereby: BUT GOD KNOWETH YOUR HEARTS; and what is in them, the deceitfulness, hypocrisy, covetousness, and cruelty of them, which are hid from the eyes of men: FOR THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED AMONG MEN; or what is high in the account and esteem of men, as the outward appearance of these men for morality, religion, and holiness; their zeal for the ceremonies of the law, and the traditions of the elders: IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD; who knew full well from what principles, and with what views they acted, to gain popular...

CHAPTER 16 _ 1. The Unjust Steward. (Luke 16:1)_ 2. The Impossible Service. (Luke 16:13) 3. The Deriding Pharisees Answered. (Luke 16:14) 4. Concerning Divorce. (Luke 16:18) 5. The Rich Man and Lazarus. (Luke 16:19 .) Luke 16:1 Let us notice that this story was spoken to the disciples. It contains a number of difficulties. It has well been said “there are knots in it which perhaps will never be untied, until the Lord comes again. We might re

WORDS TO PHARISEES. Luke 16:14 f. Lk. only. The verses seem introduced by Lk. to indicate that the preceding and succeeding parables were directed against Pharisees. They also illustrate his antipathy to the rich. Poverty and righteousness are identified, as in many of the Psalms. In Lk.'s source the parable of Luke 16:19 may have illustratively followed Luke 16:15. LUKE 16:16. _Cf._ Matthew 11:12 f.* The coming of John marks a crisis in the religious history of the world; he separates the Law from the Kingdom. And yet the Law has not been

A BAD MAN'S GOOD EXAMPLE (Luke 16:1-13)...